


The Coming of Age

by ChatoyantPenumbra



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, Yu-Gi-Oh! Series
Genre: Bonds Beyond Time, Bruno is a soft puppy as usual, Comfort, Fix-It, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff, Happy Birthday Yusei Fudo, Happy Ending, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Post-Bonds Beyond Time, Post-Dark Side Of Dimensions, Team 5Ds - Freeform, Yusei gets exactly what he deserves which is HAPPINESS, the whole gang gets together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-07
Updated: 2018-07-07
Packaged: 2019-06-06 17:00:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15199340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChatoyantPenumbra/pseuds/ChatoyantPenumbra
Summary: Yusei Fudo's birthday arrives quietly with how hard Team 5Ds has been working, but his friends have something wonderful in store for him.





	The Coming of Age

**Author's Note:**

> AGGGGGGGGGGGGH I'm so filled with feelings!!! First and foremost, HAPPY BIRTHDAY FUDO YUSEI!!! I'm gonna buy a cake later on and share it with my whole crew once I go to work in the morning but for now, please take this one-shot I poured my tired heart into! I couldn't just slide through Yusei's birthday without creating any content. Impliiiiiiiiied synchroshipping (more explicit sexy synchro at the end below the cut as an extra) bc I'm a hoe.
> 
> Enjoy!

Sapphire eyes crack open nearly at the break of dawn. 

 

For once, he gets a restful night of sleep, unbroken by nightmares of disastrous would-have-beens, cataclysmic could-have-beens. He finds himself in his bed— _ his actual bed _ —and finally recalls that it had been Crow who had sent him from the garage at eight the previous night, encouraging him to catch some sleep after a day of running odd mechanic jobs around town. Crow too had looked exhausted from a full shift and a half of making deliveries, so his suggestion had gripped Yusei by his empathetic nature, agreeing that they hit the hay with how overworked they both were.

 

After all, they have to pay the rent somehow. 

 

Nonetheless Yusei is still nothing but thankful to finally live with a proper roof over his head instead of in an underground tunnel that smelled ever faintly of piss and something rotting. 

 

His gaze drifts from the bed to the bookcase and desk, as something tugs at the back of his consciousness. His tools, parts, a paper, and pencil are laid scattered on the surface, though still somehow organized—he’d been working on the prototype of a new engine layout—but that’s not what grabs his attention as his eyes flicker up to the calendar pinned to the boring white wall beside the bookcase.

 

He’d been so caught up with working and upgrading his Runner in his off time that he hadn’t even noticed the date while it had been upcoming.

 

July 7th.

 

He drags himself out of bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and running a hand through his defiant hair in an attempt to tame it, and when he meets the kitchen he finds coffee is already waiting for him in the pot, freshly roasted and filling the space with a pleasant aroma that reminds him of late nights and early mornings simultaneously. 

 

He grabs his mug from the cabinet, filling it with a generous cup and adds a fair dash of breve from the fridge, cooling it down just enough that he can drink it immediately as the steam wafts up and caresses his face with pleasant warmth. 

 

He checks his phone for a couple minutes, filling himself in on the most current news. New Domino government continues to make astonishing progress in what used to be Satellite, whole school districts now in session to give the previously penurious children equal access to a good education. Yusei smiles into the curve of his nearly empty mug and puts the phone away, filling up again before heading down to the garage for more work, tinkering more quietly and programming until a more appropriate hour when he can begin working on engine functionality. Crow’s Runner is already gone, but Jack’s remains. Bruno joins him before long, pointing out helpful suggestions and coding right along with him to tweak the program they’ve been working on for weeks, endlessly making improvements in even the slightest of ways. But he doesn’t say anything about the date. He wouldn’t know, after all.

 

The hours fly by. The sun has rolled across the sky and the day is finally at its hottest when Yusei is given a call, a client in need of an emergency repair for their air conditioner across New Domino. No job is beneath him, so he packs up his toolbox in the compartment of his Duel Runner, upgraded with the freshly-installed program he and Bruno had finished just after noon. He pats his friend on the back, thanking him yet again for the help before he mounts his Runner and opens the garage door, flying down the street towards the job. 

 

Once he hits the highway, he barrels down the road, testing the improved maximum speed. He smirks, his eyes wild and alive as the wind rushes and whips against his body in that way with which he’s absolutely  _ infatuated _ . He speeds like a bullet past cars, and he thinks he even hears several people about his age holler after him, not with rage, but as if to say— _ holy shit, that’s Fudo Yusei! _

 

He’s the Champion of New Domino. He’s a hero; a savior; a knight on a crimson, shining horse.

 

He gets to the residence at last, a pretty apartment in a wealthy neighborhood of the city, not unlike the area in which Ruka and Rua live. Then, he’s just a mechanic. They tip him handsomely when he makes a slight tweak, a useful improvement, to the compressor of the air conditioner. He’s back on his way home with a substantially fatter electronic wallet, and though it’s rare, he’s not complaining. It’s enough to cover half the month’s rent alone.

 

He makes a mental note to tell the overworked Crow to take the day off tomorrow.

 

When he pulls into the garage of Poppo Time, he’s met with a scene that makes his heart stop. He removes the helmet from his head, staring shocked and wide-eyed at the gathering of people and food in front of him, and about half a dozen poppers explode confetti at him, some stray pieces landing in his hair and upon his broad shoulders. 

 

A chorus of voices shout, “ _ Happy Birthday, Yusei!! _ ”

 

He’s speechless. He stares, dumbfounded, until Rally grabs him by the hand and pulls him towards them with a chiding, “Well don’t just stand there like a dummy!”

 

Rally’s innocence hits him in the chest first with the force of a semi, followed by the utter thankfulness that overcomes him at the realization that his friends organized something so grand all for him. 

 

Everyone is there. Martha, Rally, Nerve, Blitz, Tank, Ruka, Rua, Jack, Aki, Bruno, Crow, Ushio, Carly, Kiryu, Sherry, and even Yanagi. They all wear smiles, no matter how wide nor slight; they’re happy to see him. 

 

He looks around and sees everything now—the meat and vegetables on the fired-up grill, the countless appetizers laid out upon a fold-up table made easier on the eyes covered with an embroidered burgundy tablecloth (and he vaguely remembers something just like that in Martha’s home), the excessive amount of balloons both floating and littering the ground, and at the very end of the appetizer table, a rectangular, pink box tied up with a white bow.

 

A disbelieving laugh leaves Yusei; he can barely register what he’s looking at. “You guys did all this…?”

 

“For you, Yusei. You’ve been working so hard, and you’ve done so much for us. It’s time we gave a little something back.” Aki smiles, and kindness touches her eyes in the way that warms his heart. 

 

Martha opens up her arms in an invitation, and within seconds he finds himself in her loving embrace, and the kids jump in on the hug too and throw themselves around their waists. Yusei finds the wind knocked out of him as Bruno also collides against his back, squeezing hard, and Martha sends only one stern glance at Crow and Jack before they join in as well, Jack most begrudgingly with a half-embarrassed, half-frustrated huff. Ruka pulls Aki into the circle, and even Ushio finds his heart softened as he reaches a hand over the crowd and pats Yusei’s wild hair, awkwardly albeit with genuine intent. 

 

Yusei can barely breathe with all of them surrounding him, squishing him, but he can’t seem to mind even as the group breaks and he can finally suck in oxygen. A rare, full-bodied smile pulls at his lips as his tanzanite gaze flickers from face to face. 

 

“Thank you.”

 

He tries to fend off the wistfulness that threatens to stain his expression when he realizes there’s only one thing missing, one person that could make this all truly perfect. 

 

But he manages to mostly convince himself this is more than enough, more than he could have ever asked for.

 

_ Mostly. _

 

Yusei and Kiryu catch up, the kids play a couple rounds of Duel Monsters minigames, and he even gets the chance to give Bruno some feedback on the way his Runner ran in his test drive on the way to his job before Rua exclaims with passion, “Alright guys,  _ time for the cake!!! _ ”

 

Fudo is tugged over to the main table, led into an obedient sit as all the lights go off, and embarrassment hits him full force as suddenly all eyes are on him again, more than a dozen and a half candles lit up atop the cake as Martha carries it over. The crowd erupts, beginning to sing  _ Happy Birthday _ , and as its laid in front of him Crow’s firm hand on his shoulder squeezes. 

 

“It’s your turn to make a wish, Yusei.”

 

The mechanic smiles gratefully up at him, gratefully at everyone, and at last his eyes close. He knows in his heart exactly what he wants—peace and security for all of New Domino, for the world, and as it settles deep into the pit of his chest, he extinguishes all of the candles with a clean  _ whoosh _ of air. 

 

It’s pitch black for just a moment until someone flicks the main lightswitch back on, but when the garage illuminates, before him on the other side of the table stands a man with unmistakable proud poise, with blonde and wine tresses all too familiar. He too is smiling at Yusei, a knowing gleam in his amethyst eyes as Yusei’s own go wide with surprise. 

 

Before the Champion can manage to say anything, the Pharaoh speaks.

 

“Happy Birthday, Yusei. From everyone in Domino, for securing their future, and from everyone from this point forward, for giving them something— _ someone _ —to believe in.”

 

He glances to the side to Ushio, who nods agreeingly—communicating something the Turbo Duelist doesn’t quite understand, but he figures he doesn't have to.

 

Instead Yusei’s vision blurs, and he’s barely keen to the fact that he’s crying until the tears are hot at the corners of his eyes. He wipes them away, his heart now pounding against his ribcage when he realizes not a single thing could make this moment any more perfect.

 

Yusei is seen. 

 

He is valued. 

 

_ He is  _ **_loved._ **

 

 

* * *

 

 

As the door closes behind them Yusei finds himself pressed to the wall, peppered with a plethora of slow but passionate kisses all across his mouth and jaw and neck, touching down even as far as his collarbones and the top of his chest to all the skin within Atem's reach with Yusei's tank still in the way.

 

Yusei’s hands are lost somewhere clenched on the fabric of Atem’s clothing, feeling the way his shoulder blades shift as he moves with the pull of his affection.

 

Their lips catch again eagerly, and the kiss that consumes them siphons all of the breath right out of their lungs and leaves them a panting mess as Atem locks the door behind them and pushes his lover farther into the room and onto his bed in a sit. 

 

The King of Games drops to his knees, and Yusei’s mind reels violently backward like a motor as those beautifully lithe, manicured hands dive for his belt. 

 

“Atem, you don’t have to…”

 

“Be still, Yusei,” he coos lovingly, tints of ruby blooming in his amethyst eyes, magnificent even in the low light. He slowly strokes the mechanic’s thigh with a single hand once the belt and zipper are undone, and not a single thought of protest remains as the Pharaoh cranes up and a quick kiss is stolen from the Champion’s lips.

 

“It’s time I offered your gift.”

**Author's Note:**

> Please do tell me what you thought about this! I'd love the feedback especially when I just wanna spread love for this good boy around.


End file.
